Topic: The Nintendo Switch Thread

To be fair, the NES games are an addition most people don't care about and literally everything else about Nintendo Switch Online should be the focus instead. (not that they can't do both but if you have to choose...)

But in news about games from actually this century, apparently Gris blew up huh? It is literally the top trend of Twitter right now, so it clearly grabbed everyone's attention.

@EvilLucario To a degree you're right, but the catch is this: If the new games are only making money because the old games people want more aren't made available, not only does that mean the new games only succeed as a temporary filler for the actual content people want to buy, and are probably inferior if so, but it also creates a market of restricting content to intentionally create an artificial market for newer, but inferior products to succeed. That's a bad precedent.

Imagine if Gone With the Wind and The Godfather were restricted from sale in the current market to ensure more people watch Wonderwoman and Bumblebee?

Are the indies really deserving of that success if they can't sell well when they are competing against 25 year old games? That might be more a testament to how a lot of indies are getting a free pass for relatively mediocre quality simply because they remind people of other games they like more but can't get. It might be a great weeding out to see which indies actually sell on their own based on a good game rather than "well, it's close enough to Super Contra, I guess."

@kkslider5552000 Which would be fine if they weren't officially making statements that say SNES Mini will be discontinued, please buy NSO that doesn't have SNES games to play these classics.....

@NEStalgia Nah, Nintendo games vs. indie games is no different from when you hear about people who say music died after the 90s. Doesn't matter how good the indie games is, they'll generally ignore it if they have the choice. Take away that choice and maybe they'll open up.

@Grumblevolcano I'll still argue music did die during the 90s, and came back afterwards.

But actually on topic, there are so many people who see that a game isn't from an established brand and refuse to try it. That doesn't say a thing about the quality of the game, just how close minded people can be.

@Grumblevolcano I'm with link, music died after the 90's and came back.....that's pretty accurate

But...I don't think directing the market by restricting the content that people want to buy just to get them to buy other things they want less because it's what's available is a terribly good attribute for a company or platform. It's a very Apple approach. Investors, perhaps, should applaud it. Consumers should not.

@NEStalgia Yeah, it's definitely not the best approach. Clearly, something needs to be done, but I don't really see a good solution? The problem remains that if you don't make a marketplace inviting and it's just old stuff, people won't buy in at all, but if there is old and new stuff, people tend towards the old out of familiarity regardless of quality. How do you solve something like that?

@link3710 I'm not seeing the problem. I highly doubt the presence of DKC2 would create a dent in DKC:TF sales. Or that the presence of Chrono Trigger would hamper the sales of Xenoblade Chronicles 2, or that Super Mario World would suddenly cripple Smash Ultimate sales. What I do see happening is the presence of the real Ninja Gaiden harming The Messenger. Why is that? Because despite being cool, the Messenger. And yet, Ninja Gaiden is already on NES Online yet the Messenger is selling well. But The Messenger has a unique hook. The trouble is, of the many "retro inspired!" 8 bit and 16 bit games, so many of them don't have their own identity. they sell as a flavor of the week primarily simply to remind people of a much more desirable game that is older. Take away the need for a reminder and the game lacks a reason to exist. Thus why I say it's creating an artificial market. It would be like a grocery store not stocking Pillsbury muffins simply so they could sell more store brand generics. No price incentive. In fact store brand costs more than the Pillsbury despite not being as high quality.....but oh well what are you going to do, this is what we're stocking so you have no choice.

If you have to restrict a product because it would outsell a more profitable product, that consumers would reject, it's clear that that more profitable product doesn't generate demand and thus gets axed. It's effectively indie subsidizing. But the thing is the good indies with a compelling product that generates demand don't seem to be suffering even when their older inspiration is available. Even free. So if they're not subsidizing the studios with products in demand....they're subsidizing the studios with products that aren't in demand.

There's no easy solution, that's for sure but at least in the meantime there's other things Nintendo could be doing to improve the situation. The eshop for starters needs a big overhaul, it's current form is better than the day 1 form but that's not saying much.

My view about music by the way is music never died but rather that it has been easier more recently to find music you like if what's in the mainstream doesn't interest you.

@NEStalgia I think a good part of that is thanks to the fact that NES titles weren't available for the first year or so of the system though. They've created a culture of positivity around indies on a lot of social media that's far more lacking... pretty much anywhere else at the moment.

If your game is so easily overlooked by much older games just because they're sold on the same store, then chances are your game isn't that good. In my mind, at least. I don't really think that's the reason Nintendo hasn't put more games up, though.

@link3710 again, though, that's part of my point. It's an artificial market that doesn't actually exist if consumers have choice.

Which probably explains part of what overall can't stand about indies anymore and any positivity toward them: its artificially created positivity for games that probably can't and shouldn't be generating success. The ones that stand on their own with succeed. Hollow Knight, dead cells,etc. Be they'd thrive either way. The others are like that average looking guy who goes to bars with his incredibly frumpy fried just to look more attractive for potential dates. . If your came can't sell well because it's up against games from the80s, you probably shouldn't be selling the game.

@NEStalgia My argument is that if you closed the artificial market now (Put the VC games all up) Indies would actually stand a chance compared to if they'd been there at launch, because there is a segment of the market that will actually even give them enough time of day for them to sell themselves.

@kkslider5552000 I literally only know of the game because it was on the cover of Wireframe. That being said, that's all I know, the girl's face, and the purple-blueish art style. I've heard it's pretty cheap, so I'll check it out during the holidays.

Fairune collection on sale for switch. I've always had this on my wishlist but I'm not sure how I feel about the combat system. Anyone know if this is a good enough deal at $6 to give the game a go?

Oh and how good or bad is the combat system for fairune?

@ReaderRagfish yeah, I have always thought the argument that Nintendo holds back older titles because of Indies is nonsense. NES and SNES titles are basically free money for them.

@Therad You could argue that releasing retro games the VC way would be more free money for them than locking them behind an online subscription yet they went with the subscription option.

@Grumblevolcano recurring revenue almost always trumps one-time sales. Also, if they didn't have their older cheaper titles, they would have needed something else. And basically everything else would cost them more, regardless if it is sales on current titles or indie games. Without the games it would be a painfully obvious paywall for online.

Nintendo's popular IPs that are constantly referenced as all time great games and largely bought by people who already own them might possibly have an unfair advantage over an indie game developed by 3 people who can barely afford to make it, let alone market it.

But that is the main thing that bothered me after a while, that people were stupidly buying games they already own instead of one they don't.